CRANBERRY RASAM

Dear friends, hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. This long weekend was a blast for us though we didn’t make any long trips. We went for some black Friday shopping, watched a couple of good movies, took good rest, and of course did some experiments in the kitchen :). I made this rasam from the leftover cranberries after making cranberry rice and dhal. Cranberries are perfect for rasam. This sourness is exactly what I wanted in a rasam. I didn’t add any tomatoes for the rasam but I think I can try adding some tomatoes next time when I making this rasam. For those who feel cranberries are too sour may be you can try adding just a couple of cranberries initially and reduce the amount of tamarind when trying for the first time. I followed my MIL’s method of making rasam here and along with her homemade rasam podi. We usually add crushed garlic in rasam. They can be substituted with garlic paste.

INGREDIENTS: (This makes up to 3 cups of rasam)

1. Cranberries, (fresh or frozen), 1/4th cup, probably around 5-6.
2. Tamarind, 1 small lime-sized.
3. Rasam powder (homemade or store bought). 1 teaspoon. (I will post the recipe soon).
4. Asafetida, 1 pinch.
5. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
6. Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon.
7. Red chilies, 2, (optional).
8. Garlic, 3 cloves.
9. Thalipu vadagam, ½ teaspoon, (optional).
10. Salt as per taste.
11. Curry leaves and chopped cilantro for garnishing.

PREPARATION:

Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes and extract thick juice from it. Crush the garlic and keep aside. Heat a pot with a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cumin seeds, red chilies, and vadagam and fry for a few seconds. Now reduce the flame to low and add the cranberries and mix everything well. Keep stirring under low flame for 5 minutes until the cranberries are cooked and turn mushy. Then add the crushed garlic, salt, asafetida, and tamarind juice along with 3 cups of water and let it come to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add the rasam powder, curry leaves, and chopped cilantro. Mix everything just once and switch off the stove. Serve with rice and any spicy side dish.